Surgical Technology

The Surgical Technology curriculum prepares individuals to assist in the care of the surgical patient in the operating room and to function as a member of the surgical team.

Students will apply theoretical knowledge to the care of patients undergoing surgery and develop skills necessary to prepare supplies, equipment, and instruments; maintain aseptic conditions; prepare patients for surgery; and assist surgeons during operations.

Graduates of accredited programs will be eligible to apply to take the national certification exam for Surgical Technologists which is administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting. Employment opportunities include labor/delivery/emergency departments, inpatient/ outpatient surgery centers, dialysis units/facilities, physicians’ offices, and central supply processing units.

The Surgical Technology Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.cahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
1361 Park Street
Clearwater, FL 33756
727-210-2350
www.caahep.org

Surgical Technology Student Work Policy

All Edgecombe Community College Surgical Technology student activities associated with the curriculum, especially while students are completing clinical rotations, will be educational only in nature. Students will NOT receive any monetary remuneration during this educational experience, nor will the student be substituted for hired staff personnel within the clinical institution in the capacity of a surgical technologist or other hired staff personnel.

Admission Policy for the Surgical Technology Program

Students are admitted to the surgical technology program in accordance with policies established by the faculty and approved by administration. The college does not guarantee admission to all students who apply to the surgical technology program. Admission is competitive and is based on a points-based ranking system. Completion of the program does not guarantee success in passing the national exam.

A student must be admitted/readmitted to the surgical technology program in order to receive credit in any surgical technology (SUR) course. Curriculum courses other than SUR courses may be taken before admission to the program or after admission in the sequence offered.

Surgical technology students are assigned clinical rotations with area healthcare agencies. Students must meet employee health standards and the criminal background and/or drug screening requirements of the agencies at the student’s expense at any time after admission to the program.

The surgical technology applicant is required to meet steps I-IV before enrollment fall semester. Each step of the admission policy must be completed before advancing to the next step.

Step I Application process

Submit an Edgecombe Community College Admission Application.
Submit official transcript of high school graduation or GED. Currently enrolled high school students should submit a partial transcript. A final transcript must be submitted at the time of graduation.
Submit official transcripts from all colleges attended.
Attend a mandatory Surgical Technology information session before March 1st. The student must attend the session each year that application is made to be aware of curriculum and admission policy changes.
Complete a Surgical Technology program application at the session. Subsequent dates for acceptance of applications will be established if space becomes available prior to fall semester.

Step II TEAS V

Take the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS V) before March 1st.
TEAS V scores must meet the following criteria to be eligible for ranking:
- A minimum overall score of 58%.
- Testing occurred within the 24 months prior to the March 1st application deadline
- The student has released the scores to ECC with ATI if testing occurred at a site other than at ECC OR the scores are officially delivered to ECC by the school where the test was taken.
- All four sections of the TEAS test were taken.
- TEAS V may be taken up to twice in an academic year, at least 28 days apart.
The highest of up to four TEAS scores will be used for ranking.

Step III Ranking and Conditional Acceptance

Students who score a 58% on the TEAS V will be competitively ranked.
Points from the TEAS score and from the GPA on all ECC Surgical Technology curriculum general education courses that have been completed from all colleges, including courses with less than a C, are included in the calculation. The ranking GPA also includes all curriculum courses that have been completed more than once.
The highest ranking applicants will receive a letter of conditional acceptance.
Students must accept or reject the seat in writing to Surgical Technology Admissions Counselor.
A waiting list letter will be mailed to remaining eligible applicants.
Students will continue to be accepted from the waiting list until the program is full.

Step IV Full Acceptance

After accepting a surgical technology seat, the student must meet the following requirements in order to be fully accepted:

Attend mandatory Health Science Orientation and Surgical Technology Orientation sessions.
Submit a completed medical form provided by the college, including required immunizations, performed within a 12-month time frame by the required deadline.
Submit evidence of current (within the last year) Health Care Provider CPR certification by the American Heart Association by the required deadline.
If developmental courses were required upon admission to the college, the developmental prerequisites for ECC Surgical Technology curriculum general education courses must be completed prior to enrollment in the program.
Demonstrate a 2.0 GPA on all ECC Surgical Technology curriculum general education courses that have been completed up to the point of enrollment in the program. The highest grade on all completed courses from all colleges will be used in this calculation, including courses with less than a C.
Demonstrate an overall 2.0 GPA on courses completed at ECC up to the point of enrollment.
Submit criminal background check and a drug screen by the required deadline.
Failure to meet deadlines will result in withdrawal of acceptance status.

Surgical Technology students must sit for the certification exam to complete the requirements for the program.